Newcomers:1 The Prologue
by GraceKelleys
Summary: Raya Northingale thought she was a normal girl, untill she was dragged into chaos. Will she survive?
1. Chapter 1

Raya Northingale sat in the gameroom with her best friend, and roommate, Nia Mason. The two twenty year olds were playing their favorite game, Mortal Kombat.

"I am kicking your butt!" Raya laughed.

"Well no kidding Ray! You are one of the best!" Nia exclaimed.

Raya thought for a moment. It was true, she was now one of the best in the state. "True, but I still have to kick your butt!"

"Come on, me?" Nia sighed.

"Yes you knucklehead." Raya replied as she hit Frost with Mavado's hookswords

"Thanks." Nia said sarcastically.

"But anyway, where would I be without my kick butt teammate?" Raya grinned.

"What teammate?" Nia asked, confused.

"Mavado! How could you forget him? We're a team, him and I!" Raya exclaimed.

"Oh, right!" Nia laughed.

Raya laughed as she hit Frost again. She used Mavado so often it seemed natural.

Frost didn't have time to duck as Mavado used his throw.

"Aww! Raya, c'mon, give me a break!" Nia begged.

"Okay, I won't use his fatality!" Raya giggled.

Nia sighed and sank down in utter defeat.

Raya giggled gleefully as she used the fatality.

"You lied!" Nia shouted and hit Raya with a pillow.

"Mavado wins." The announcer guy said.

Nia laughed. "Up for another game? I'll use Li-Mei this time."

"How about two? I wanna practice Kitana for a bit then use Mavado again so I get re-used to him." Raya suggested.

"Sure." Nia agreed with a nod.

"I'll go get us another can of soda. How 'bout coke?" Raya said and nodded, causing her long auburn hair to bounce slightly in the ponytail.

"That would be great Ray. Bring down the chips while your at it kay?"

"Okelie dokelie." Raya agreed and pranced up the stairs.

Moments later Raya was in the kitchen of their large home. Raya opened the fridge and pulled out two cans of vanilla coke. She then went over to the cupboard and opened it. Raya peered into it with her deep hazel eyes.

"There they are." Raya said as she pulled out the salt and vinegar chips after nearly seven minutes of searching.

Raya grabbed the sodas and skipped down the stairs.

"Aaaaaaaah! Raya! Help me! Help! Aaaaaaaaah!" Nia screamed.

"Nia!" Raya called back. "I'm coming, keep your cool! Hang on!"

Raya ran into the room and placed the food down calmly only to see Raiden and Sub-Zero standing in the middle of the gameroom.

"Aaaaaaaaaaah! I am so totally having either a nightmare or a dream!" Raya shouted.

"Will you both please be quiet. We are only here to fetch a Miss. Northingale and to speak to a Miss. Mason" Sub-Zero said calmly.

Nia and Raya shut up immediately.

"We need another fighter. We need another every few decades. We think Miss. Northingale has certain traits and qualities that will make her an excellent fighter." Raiden began. "Miss. Northingale has a choice to whom she fights by or with of course. She will receive proper training."

Nia and Raya gaped.

"I'm Miss. Northingale." Raya said.

"Excellent!" Raiden smiled.

"Then you must be Miss. Mason." Sub-Zero said.

"What do you have to say to me?" Nia asked.

"We need you to tell all who ask that Miss. Northingale has gone for a trip to Europe for extra training in her career." Sub-Zero said.

"Hold it! I'm not going!" Raya cried.

"Why not Ray? You said you would jump on a chance like that." Nia was baffled.

Raiden and Sub-Zero looked at Raya expectantly.

"Have you seen what the girls have got to wear? It is so sexist! I will not wear that! Never! Never! Never! Never! Ever!" Raya cried.

"You could wear something like Frost's uniform." Sub-Zero suggested.

"Yuck!" Raya cried, angered.

"This is what you always wanted and you're worried about what you have to wear?" Sub-Zero sneered.

"Shut your hole!" Raya snapped at Sub-Zero. "I will not go if I do not receive proper coverage. I don't care what everyone else wears! If I gotta fight I might as well be comfy!"

Sub-Zero glared and stepped toward Raya, Raiden held him back.

"I will make my uniform. Got it? That is the only way you can get me to go." Raya finished

"Fair enough. What style will it be?" Raiden asked.

"I'll show you! I've made sketches!" Raya said proudly.

Raya ran to a drawer, took out a notepad, then raced back.

"Ah-hah!" Jessica called triumphantly as she handed it to Raiden. "It's the first one."

Raiden examined it. The outfit looked like coverage. The outfit was a black trenchcoat, leather pants, and a black shirt. It was a classic Red Dragon uniform. Raiden sighed and gave back the notebook. "Alright."

"Score!" Raya shouted and jumped up.

"We must go now Raiden." Sub-Zero finally said.

"Yes, come on Miss. Northingale." Raiden said.

"Wait a minute! Nia, am I entered in any tournaments?" Raya stopped.

"No..." Nia said. "None Mortal Kombat anyway."

"Oh no! The gymnastics championship. I can't let the team down! I'm the captain!" Raya shouted in distress. "I hate to do this Nia, but Maria knows it all so ask her to fill my place for a while please?"

"Sure Jess. Go! Hope I see you again." Nia said, teary eyed.

"Yeah, me too. Say hello to my family please." Raya said with a wave as she followed Raiden to the T.V. screen, which was now a temporary portal.

Raya looked behind her once again, feeling empty, afraid, and alone. She felt sick to the stomach. Raya was going to be leaving her family, her friends, everything she was familiar with. She may never have the chance to cheerlead again, never go to another dance, never sing at the university again, never sing karaoke again, never see the pictures when she had been elected Winter Festival Queen again with Marco. She may never even see Marco again. Raya felt so hollow as she looked back. She took a deep breath, squeezed her eyes shut, and walked through. Raya really wanted to run into her room, slam the door, and cry into a pillow instead.


	2. Chapter 2

Raya stood with Raiden and Sub-Zero in an area with stone walls. It looked depressing but it was neat, and for some reason the place felt like home and as though it was flowering with life.

"What now?" Raya asked grumpily.

"Uh... meet the others?" Sub-Zero said uneasily.

"Yes, then we decide where you belong, you know, what clan." Raiden added.

"Um...Raiden?" Sub-Zero shuffled nervously.

"What is it?" Raiden said impatiently.

"The Lin Kuei has requested her. They need more assassins." Sub-Zero replied.

"Heck no!" Raya jumped in. "I do not assassinate! It's against my religion! I know killing is period, but killing in cold blood?! Not happening!"

"You will be trained for all that." Sub-Zero replied flatly.

"Too bad! You can't train me if I don't want to be trained!" Raya snapped

"Enough!" Raiden thundered. "We will discuss this later."

"I wanna meet Kitana, Mavado, Frost, Nitara, and Shang Tsung!" Raya chirped.

"Sure, but all we have here on that list of yours is Kitana and Frost." Sub-Zero said.

"Then we'll take you to the town for awhile. I'm sure you'll meet Mavado there." Sub-Zero said and sneered a little when he said Mavado.

Jessica caught the sneer. "Don't sneer at my kick butt teammate, I've won many tournaments with him. He made me best in the state."

Sub-Zero looked confused.

"There is apparently a game on us, and Mavado is her favorite and she fights best using him. I copied her room and made a room equal to it. I'm sure she'll show you the game." Raiden explained.

Sub-Zero nodded.

"Raya, when you go to town I will not be there. Sub-Zero will take you I'm sure and maybe Frost or Kitana. Maybe even Sonya." Raiden added.

"Sure, whatever." Raya said as she skipped down the hall.

Raiden and Sub-Zero caught up to her.

As the three entered the room everyone looked to Raya.

"A newbie." Johnny Cage sneered.

"I prefer the term newcomer, Johnny." Raya snapped.

"How does she know my name?" Johnny asked Raiden.

"Long story." Raiden replied simply then turned to Sub-Zero. "I must go now. Sub-Zero, watch her. She has a mischievous, reckless, and rebellious spirit."

Sub-Zero nodded.

"Goodness! There's Kitana! Frost! Oh, how could I forget Sonya?!" Raya was giddy with excitement.

Sub-Zero rolled his eyes and went to help with introductions, afterwards he grabbed Frost and the three of them were going off into town.

"You know Frost, my best friend is your biggest fan." Raya chirped.

"Really now." Frost said, interested.

"Yep. I'll explain how she knows about you later. But first I've got to check out the bar, I'm sure it has karaoke." Raya replied, now sidetracked.

"Raya, are you sure that's wise?" Sub-Zero said. "Mavado may be there."

"Cool. But anyway I'm sure my destiny awaits me there." Raya said sarcastically. "I need to sing anyway."

"O.K." Sub-Zero gave in.

Inside were many people. Raya was astonished. The place was bursting with excitement and Raya felt some seep into her. The only question was, how could she muster enough courage to sing in front of this many people. Some may not even be human.

"Erf." Raya squeaked.

But sure enough, Mavado was there. Raya wasn't sure whether to be excited or scared out of her wits.

"By the way Raya." Sub-Zero began. "Here they pick the people who entertain by chance. It gives them an opportunity to laugh at others. They tend to pick newbies."

Frost nodded.

"Then let's hope they pick me." Raya replied calmly, feeling quite the opposite.

Raya then headed to the front of the crowd. Sub-Zero and Frost followed closely.

A man walked onto the stage.

"Who's ready for the karaoke?" The man snickered.

A chorus of shouts answered his question.

"Okay then let me pick someone to start off. Remember, they get to pick their own song to sing." The man on stage said then scanned the crowd. Some new people shrank back.

The man noticed Raya in her tank top and blue jeans.

"How about you?" The man pointed at her.

"Sure, why not? You only live once right?" Raya said all too cheerfully.

"Okay, here's the mike." The man handed her the microphone. "Break a leg smart aleck."

"Smart aleck?" Raya asked, confused. She then remembered what Sub-Zero had said. "Oh right! You like to laugh at the people who can't sing or are just plain a nervous wreck. Well you're outta luck here pal. I've taken vocal lessons with my best bud. She and I were supposed to do a duet tomorrow."

"You mean sing together?" The man asked.

"No! I mean stand on our heads." Raya rolled her eyes. "Of course we sing together dildo!"

The man glared at her. "What will you be singing?"

"I was thinking I Love Rock & Roll. Skip the Britney Spears and Crossroads crap though. My gosh am I sick of it!"

"Okay..." The man trailed off.

"Great!" Raya cried.

"What's your weakness on stage?" The man asked slyly.

"I dunno. Hmm...." Raya carried off.

"Cut the small talk and answer." The man snapped.

"Oh, but I live for small talk. Actually that could be a weakness. But you see I'll go nuts for anything MK." Jessica replied, changing the subject.

"Okay then." The man was getting annoyed.

"Hey, shut up. I'm trying to have a good time. I have to miss the gymnastics championships for this." Raya snapped.

"Gymnastics?" The man thought he was getting somewhere.

"You know. This." Raya said, then did a perfect backflip with a somersault in mid-air. "I'm captain. I need to be the best." Raya added as she landed silently and perfectly.

The man turned pale. "Okay I think our customers are getting bored."

Raya nodded. "Is it time to kick it up?"

"Uh, sure, whatever." The man sighed.

Raya looked over to where Mavado sat. She did not want to meet him. He looked almost exactly the same as on the games except something was different, something she couldn't pinpoint. It was almost as if he was darker, nastier, frightening somehow. Was it possible this wasn't all she thought it was cracked up to be? Was she in some sort of danger?


	3. Chapter 3

Grace: Heh, just realized at the beginning Nia said Jess once. Yeah, Raya was originally going to be this wimpy girl named Jess but I changed it. And I myself am finding this a little bit corny but I know the second will be better, lots, I'm writing it right now. Thanks for the great review QQQP. Oh and yes, this is supposed to be a totally different view of the MK world, much more modern.

Just as Raya opened her mouth to sing a black clad ninja jumped up on the stage. Raya cried out in surprise as she jumped to the side.

Sub-Zero glanced up after hearing her cry. His eyes widened as he recognized the other ninja's profile.

It was Noob Saibot. Anger seeped into Sub-Zero. The cowards. He thought. To attack a girl who doesn't know how to fight! And to attack without warning too!

Raya stifled a scream as she watched a dagger fly toward her. Luckily the dagger was thrown in haste and so it just missed her, though it left a small cut on her cheek.

Raya felt something damp and she touched the cut. It stung as the salt from her hand entered the cut. She drew her hand away and examined it. Blood was on her fingers.

The young woman jumped off the stage and landed neatly in her feet. She didn't know where to go and the black ninja was just behind her.

Raya ran and bumped into the one she least expected, Mavado.

"Well, who do we have here?" Mavado sneered down at her.

Raya said nothing but stared up in horror. She looked away and began to think of something totally unimportant.

Blast! He's taller than me! Not by much, still. He's like 5'9" and I'm 5'8". It's weird. Wait a second, why I'm I thinking about this. I know it's natural for your mind to wander when in danger but honestly. Height differences?! If I survive this I'm seeing a shrink.

Raya shook her head and slipped past Mavado who chased after her.

I'm faster at least. Raya thought to herself.

Sub-Zero watched for a moment before entering the action. She can't stay out of trouble for two minutes. Two minutes! And to top it off she gets chased by two of the best fighters. I've got my work cut out for me. Sub-Zero sighed and shook his head.

Raya back flipped and noticed Sub-Zero. "I can take care of myself." Raya said to herself.

The tall brown haired woman black flipped again and stopped for a moment. She didn't notice that Noob Saibot wasn't behind her. She simply focused on the Lin Kuei ninja.

As Raya turned around, she stopped. In front of her was the black ninja that had started the whole thing. Raya screamed. Sub-Zero, who had been looking around and watching for any more that may want to hurt Raya, looked back toward her. Noob Saibot was with her. Mavado had merely been a distraction.

Noob Saibot looked down at the frightened girl in front of him. He then looked at Sub-Zero. If Sub-Zero attacked, taking the girl wouldn't be easy. He had fought Sub-Zero before and fighting him was never easy. If he had to fight Sub-Zero this time he knew he would win, the only problem was that the fight would lose him precious time. Noob Saibot was sure Sub-Zero knew this too.

Noob Saibot grabbed Raya and she gasped. His grip was strong and it came as a shock. Raya's forehead was creased with concentration as she scanned the onlooking crowd for Raiden. Where was the so-called thunder god when you needed him? And why wouldn't the so-called great Sub-Zero do anything? She couldn't trust any of these stupid jerks. They were all going to let this black ninja jerk hurt her.

Sub-Zero didn't know what to do. If he fought Noob Saibot he would lose, he knew that right now, and he would lose Raya that way. He couldn't do anything, at least anything he could think of.

Noob Saibot knew what the girl was thinking about. It was a shame for her to be losing trust in everyone already. Though it made his job much easier he couldn't help but feel sorry for her. Shrugging he gripped her tighter and then he jumped back, a purple type portal opened and the two fell through(see MK Annihilation).

Sub Zero had watched helplessly as Raya was lost to Noob Saibot. He had failed to keep Raya out of danger. He had no idea what was to become of her. Sub Zero shook his head. He had to find Raiden and tell him the truth. Raya was lost, for now at least.


	4. Chapter 4

Raya was in some sort of castle place. Most of it was made of gray and aging stone. Noob Saibot was still behind her, making sure she walked where he wanted her to, making sure she did exactly as he told her.

Raya examined the walls, seeing some fungus from water leaking into cracks in the walls. It was damp; they had to be in the lower levels. Raya was right, they were going to go up some flights of stairs.

Raya's eyes were sore. It was really dark being that torches lit the halls and some had been extinguished. It seemed that many or the torches had not been lit in years. Raya's eyes were having a hard time adjusting.

The two entered some sort of chamber. A man was seated on a throne. He looked like he had a lot of tattoos. Raya took the man to be Quan Chi.

Noob Saibot led her to the front of the room where the man was seated. It was Quan Chi. Noob Saibot pushed her down onto her knees. Raya did not expect this and she fell onto her face. The stone floors were hard and Raya's nose began to bleed. She wasn't used to this rough treatment.

Quan Chi laughed at how pathetic Raya was. "So Noob Saibot, this is the girl?"

"I'm afraid she is. She was with Sub-Zero, that fool." Noob Saibot replied, his voice deep.

"I don't know what we can do with her." Quan Chi seemed slightly agitated by how weak she seemed.

"Perhaps some training?" The black clad ninja suggested.

"Yes. We will see how she is then. Maybe we can find her a suitable clan as well, one that's allied with us of course." Quan Chi began to think of different possibilities.

"She seems maneuverable and graceful, that's a bonus. Also we must break her spirit. She seems much to rebellious. I was spying on her, just as you asked." Noob Saibot added.

"Excellent! Then it's settled. She will begin training in the next few days or so." On Quan Chi's face appeared such a horrible thing as a smile.

"And who will train her?" Noob Saibot raised an eyebrow.

"Must I think of everything? Find someone! You're more than capable enough!" Quan Chi waved them away.

Raya was trying to stop her nose from bleeding. At the same time she struggled to look at least half-decent. Noob Saibot noticed this and rolled his eyes. He grabbed her shirt and hoisted her to her feet with little effort. Raya wanted to punch him in the face but she knew that in doing so she would be committing suicide. That's like Canada attacking the U.S. Raya thought.

Noob Saibot pointed to where he wanted Raya to move. The young woman did not notice him and seemed lost in thought. Noob Saibot began to think she was a hopeless case.

"Move!" He grunted at her. Raya jumped, Noob Saibot pushed her. "Move!" He repeated.

Raya was surprised, he hadn't said much, just told her different directions and hadn't said them very loudly. He seemed more secure back in the castle, or maybe he wanted Quan Chi to be impressed.

Raya nodded to herself and turned around. She slowly took a few steps, expecting someone to grab her again. See that nobody did Raya moved toward the exit, Noob Saibot went in front of her. The black clad ninja made sure she did not try to wander off. Raya could only move when Noob Saibot wanted her to move, she knew she was in no position to try and run. Raya would be lost in an instant and she knew there was a high possibility she would be killed. If anyone found her unescorted by Noob Saibot they may take her for a spy or someone unwelcome. Raya had soon realized no one trusted anyone here. It was every man for himself. The main rule seemed to be kill or be killed. Raya would be trained to think and act like everyone else in the castle.

As Raya entered a small room with a few other people in it, Raya slowly felt herself weakening with every step. Raya knew every moment could be her last, and as she thought more and more about it, the weaker she felt.

"Here she is." Noob Saibot finally said, his voice in perfect monotone. Obviously it was no surprise that Raya was here.

"So that's the girl I distracted Sub-Zero for?" A man in a black trenchcoat asked. It was Mavado.

"Unless I am greatly mistaken, yes." Noob Saibot's voice dripped with sarcasm. "And when sent on a job I am never wrong."

"Could have fooled me." Mavado snapped back.

"It's more than I can say for you!" Noob Saibot glared. Mavado fell silent and could not come back with a decent reply.

"Anyway, she needs a trainer. Someone here who would accept her into their clan is preferred. I'd train her myself but I haven't the patience for the likes of her."

Raya glared at Noob Saibot. Apparently her name here was 'her, the girl,' or 'she'

A few people shook their heads. Mavado then walked closer to Noob Saibot. "I guess the Red Dragon clan can use her."

"Alright. She's all yours. You'd better do a good job, if you don't Quan Chi will have both our heads." Noob Saibot growled.

"It wouldn't be my fault, I always do a good job. It would be hers for not listening!" Mavado said flatly.

"Well you'd better make sure she does listen then." Noob Saibot said coolly, turning toward the exit without another word. Mavado was left standing there, with Raya by his side.


End file.
